Directional solidification of molten metal using a vertically oriented ceramic mold positioned on a horizontal chill plate is well known in the art of investment casting to produce such components as columnar grain or single crystal gas turbine engine blades and vanes. Typically, the vertically oriented mold on the chill plate is filled with molten metal in an upstanding casting furnace, and then the chill plate is vertically withdrawn from the casting furnace to establish unidirectional heat removal from the molten metal in the mold to produce a columnar or single crystal casting microstructure if a crystal selector passage (e.g. pigtail) is provided on the mold.
An object of the present invention is to provide method and apparatus for directional solidification using a generally horizontally oriented mold that is oscillated and withdrawn from a casting furnace in a manner to reduce segregation, avoid loss of molten metal from the mold, and achieve a directionally solidified cast microstructure.